The background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
In traditional and longstanding farming methods, tilling or tillage is typically used before planting to prepare a field. Tilling a field has both herbicidal and insecticidal benefits and may serve to break up the earth to enable seedlings to more easily extend root systems. However, there are downsides to tillage that are driving modern farmers towards “low-till” or “no-till” farming systems. In these farming systems, plant matter left over from previous harvests, called residue, is left in the fields between plantings. At the time of planting, a row cleaner system is used with a planter to clear only a small portion or strip of earth of the residue to enable seeds and fertilizer to be placed in the ground. The row cleaner removes the residue and only very lightly tills the topmost soil or earth to provide for a clear path for seed and fertilizer placement.
No-till farming systems provide for benefits including increased water retention and absorption, and increased presence of beneficial fungi, bacteria, and fauna (e.g., earthworms). The use of a no-till farming system has the additional benefit of reducing topsoil erosion that may be caused by tilling. In no-till systems it has also been shown that because water retention is greater and soil erosion is reduced, the environmental impact from the runoff of fertilizer, herbicides, and pesticides is also reduced.
The movement towards no-till farming systems has driven the improvement of row cleaner apparatuses for planting systems. Existing row cleaner systems include fixed row cleaners, adjustable row cleaners, and floating row cleaners and a variety of row cleaner wheels. One problem with existing row cleaning wheel designs is that residue or debris follow the rotating wheel on the surfaces of the teeth, which is unwanted as it causes clogging and lowers overall performance.
What is needed is a row cleaner wheel configured and adapted to avoid excessive soil and ground debris from following and traveling with the rotation of the wheel during planting operation to avoid clogging and other detrimental effects when used in a row planter or planter system.